This morning, we will work our way through Psalm 23. It's a short psalm, so I want to start just by reading it:
(1) A psalm of/for David.
Yahweh, My shepherd is. ["Yahweh" is focused]
I shall not lack.
(2) In green pastures He makes me lie down. ["in green pastures" is focused]
Toward waters of rest He leads me. ["toward waters of rest"]
(3) My soul/inner being He restores. ["my inner being"]
He leads me on right paths for the sake of his name.
(4) Also, when I walk in a valley of death/deep darkness, I don't fear evil/disaster,
because You are with me.
Your rod and your staff-- they comfort me.
(5) You prepare a table before me, in the presence of my foes.
You anoint with oil my head.
My cup is overflowing.
(6) Surely, goodness and loyalty shall pursue me all the days of my life,
and I shall return to the house of Yahweh for a long time.
(1) A psalm of/for David.
Yahweh , My shepherd is.
I shall not lack.
There are few things that terrify people more, than the possibility of not having enough. Of lacking the basic necessities of life. Most of the time, we don't realize how scared we are. We aren't aware of our anxiety. All we just know that we squirrel away food, and money, and wealth, compulsively. And it doesn't matter, truly, how much you've saved. You never quite feel safe.
But inevitably, something bad will happen to you at some point in your life. There will be a virus outbreak, or a war, or you will lose your job, or there will be a recession. And all of your fears, and insecurities, and worries come welling up to the surface, and you panic. You worry that you won't have enough.
In Psalm 23, the psalmist knows-- and he is absolutely confident about this-- that he will not lack. There is no need to fear. No need to panic.
Why?
He knows that his Shepherd is Yahweh. And Yahweh is very good at caring for his flock.
Verse 2:
(2) In green pastures He makes me lie down.
Toward waters of rest He leads me.
Yahweh will make sure that his flock has enough to eat. He will give them green pastures to feed from. Yahweh will make sure his flock has enough to drink-- He will find a watering hole for them, where they can sit down and rest.
Verse 3:
(3) My soul/inner being He restores.
He leads me on right paths for the sake of his name.
There are times in life when you will feel shattered inside. You are falling apart, broken. Exhausted. When this happens to you, Yahweh is the one who puts you back together. Yahweh is very good at fixing people.
And most of the time, how God does this isn't very complicated. Humans are straightforward creatures, with straightforward needs.
What do we need to be restored/revived?
We need food. Drink. And rest. And God will bring us to places where we get these things.
Let's reread the second line in verse 3:
He leads me on right paths for the sake of his name.
Yahweh is the one who puts you on a good path in life. He isn't going to lead you somewhere that will harm you. He's not going to bring you somewhere that destroys you. And he does this, at least in part, for the sake of his name. No one is going to look at you-- you, who are committed to God and to being led by God-- and think, "Wow, you made a terrible mistake in relying on God." No. People look at you, and they think, "God has richly blessed you." They think, "God can be trusted." And so they look at you, and they give glory to God.
Verse 4:
(4) Also, when I walk in a valley of death/deep darkness, I don't fear evil/disaster,
because You are with me.
Now, just because God leads you on the right path, doesn't mean that his paths are always easy or that they look safe. There will be times when God leads you on paths that pass through deep darkness, and death. But when this happens, we don't worry. God's people aren't scared of the dark. They aren't scared of bad things happening to them.
How can we be? We know that God is with us.
The psalmist continues:
Your rod and your staff-- they comfort me.
Yahweh is with us, and God carries a big stick. A "rod" is some type of wooden stick, that can be used as a weapon (2 Samuel 23:21) to kill (Exodus 21:20). And a "rod" is God's weapon of choice (Psalm 2:9; Isaiah 10:5, 15)-- or, at least, one of them.
We know that our God is armed. We know that He is perfectly capable of fighting off his enemies, and protecting us. And knowing this is a great comfort. Knowing this is why we can walk through valleys of death, and not be scared.
Yahweh also carries a staff. A staff is like a walking stick, about shoulder-height. You could use this for all kinds of reasons-- you can knock olives down from trees for the sheep (this is from John Goldingay), or you could guide a sheep with it. The rod is what God uses on his enemies. The staff, is what He uses for you.
And both, together, give you comfort.
With this, we come to verse 5. And here the psalmist changes images, from talking about God as the good Shepherd, to talking about him as a Gracious Host.
When you have an honored guest in your home for a meal, how do you treat them?
Let's read Proverbs 9:1-6. This is Wisdom's invitation to her house. This is Wisdom inviting people over for a meal:
Wisdom has built her house,
She has hewn out her seven pillars;
2 She has slaughtered her meat,
She has mixed her wine,
She has also [a]furnished her table.
3 She has sent out her maidens,
She cries out from the highest places of the city,
4 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,
5 “Come, eat of my bread
And drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 Forsake foolishness and live,
And go in the way of understanding.
Verse 5:
(5) You arrange a table before me, in the presence of my adversaries.
Picture God, as the Gracious Host, inviting you over for a meal. You sit down, and He arranges the table in front of you. It's loaded with food, and wine. And it's for you. We already talked about how God is the good shepherd. How He makes sure that you, his sheep, have plenty to eat and drink, and can rest. This picture, of you at God's table, is another way of talking about that.
And God does all this for you openly. Everyone who is opposed to you, who is your adversary, sees God blessing you. They know that no matter how they feel about you, or what they do to you, that God continues to be faithful to you. They see that you are doing just fine.
God is good to you, and there is nothing they can do to you that will change that.
The psalmist continues:
You anoint with oil my head.
My cup is overflowing.
Part of being a good host is anointing people's heads with oil. Let's turn to Luke 7:36:
36 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”
40 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
So he said, “Teacher, say it.”
41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”
And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
God, as the Gracious Host, anoints you with oil. He blesses you. And He makes sure that your cup (of wine) overflows. There are no shortages with God. God doesn't ever run out (John 2).
Verse 6:
(6) Surely , goodness and loyalty shall pursue me all the days of my life,
and I shall return to the house of Yahweh for a long time.
I like this verse. A lot. God's goodness and loyalty chase after you. They pursue you relentlessly, as long as you live. They are like a dog chasing your car, that just refuses to stop.
Most of the time, we have no real sense of how good God wants to be toward his people. And how good God is toward his people. God is loyal toward his people. And God gives good gifts to his people. He does so cheerfully, extravagantly.
In the last line of verse 6, we get just a hint of something bad that has happened to the psalmist. He doesn't write/sing this from an ivory tower. As someone removed from the real world. He writes this as someone for whom life is hard, who has been driven away from Jerusalem, and God's temple.
What the psalmist wants most is to return to Yahweh's house, and get to stay there a while. He wants to offer sacrifices, and worship, and be in God's presence. It's not that God isn't with him now. But God present in a special way, in the OT, at the temple. The temple is God's house. And that's where he wants to go. He just can't, right now.
And what this last line tells us is that this is a psalm for people who find themselves in hardship. This is a psalm for people who have adversaries. Who know what it's like to need to need restoring. Who find themselves in valleys of deep darkness.
And for a lot of you, that time is right now. You're maybe panicking. Things look scary. You worry that you will lack.
If this is you, know that your Shepherd is Yahweh. Yahweh is the one who is leading you, and restoring you, and providing for you, and protecting you.
And Yahweh is also your Gracious Host. He will make sure, not just that you have no lack, but that you have plenty. God will make sure you get through this okay.
Trust your Shepherd.
